A single analytical method for the determination of 53 legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous matrices
Abstract
A quantitative method for the determination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using liquid chromatography (LC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed and applied to aqueous wastewater, surface water, and drinking water samples. Fifty-three PFAS from 14 compound classes (including many contaminants of emerging concern) were measured using a single analytical method. After solid-phase extraction using weak anion exchange cartridges, method detection limits in water ranged from 0.28 to 18 ng/L and method quantitation limits ranged from 0.35 to 26 ng/L. Method accuracy ranged from 70 to 127% for 49 of the 53 extracted PFAS, with the remaining four between 66 and 138%. Method precision ranged from 2 to 28% RSD, with 49 out of the 53 PFAS being below < 20%. In addition to quantifying > 50 PFAS, many of which are currently unregulated in the environment and not included in typical analytical lists, this method has efficiency advantages over other similar methods as it utilizes a single chromatographic separation with a shorter runtime (14 min), while maintaining method accuracy and stability and the separation of branched and linear PFAS isomers. The method was applied to wastewater influent and effluent; surface water from a river, wetland, and lake; and drinking water samples to survey PFAS contamination in Australian aqueous matrices. The compound classes FTCAs, FOSAAs, PFPAs, and diPAPs were detected for the first time in Australian WWTPs and the method was used to quantify PFAS concentrations from 0.60 to 193 ng/L. The range of compound classes detected and different PFAS signatures between sample locations demonstrate the need for expanded quantitation lists when investigating PFAS, especially newer classes in aqueous environmental samples. Graphical abstract.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The detection limit and sensitivity of the analytical method used to identify unknown PFAAs and precursors on particles could affect the estimation of particle-associated PFAS.
“The detection limit and sensitivity of the analytical method used to identify unknown PFAAs and precursors on particles could affect the estimation of particle-associated PFAS (Coggan et al., 2019).”
From Perfluoroalkyl acids on suspended particles: Significant transport pathways in surface runoff, surface waters, and subsurface soils (2021) · cites this paper as Coggan et al., 2019
The QA/QC results provided an acceptable assurance of the quality of the data set for this study.
“However, similar methods have been successfully employed in WWTP matrices in other studies [32, 46, 47] and overall we considered the QA/QC results provided an acceptable assurance of the quality of the data set for this study.”
From An investigation into per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in nineteen Australian wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) (2019) · cites this paper as [46]
Cites
Buck, R. C., Franklin, J., Berger, U., Conder, J. M., Cousins, I. T., de Voogt, P., Jensen, A. A., Kannan, K., Mabury, S. A., & van Leeuwen, S. P. (2011) · Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management · doi:10.1002/ieam.258 · Cited by 4,641 · see citing works
Global Distribution of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in Wildlife
Giesy, J. P., & Kannan, K. (2001) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es001834k · Cited by 2,750 · see citing works
A Never-Ending Story of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)?
Wang, Z., DeWitt, J. C., Higgins, C. P., & Cousins, I. T. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b04806 · Cited by 1,921 · see citing works
Wang, Z., Cousins, I. T., Scheringer, M., & Hungerbühler, K. (2013) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2013.08.021 · Cited by 924 · see citing works
Fate and Effects of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in the Aquatic Environment: A Review
Ahrens, L., & Bundschuh, M. (2014) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.2663 · Cited by 817 · see citing works
Microbial degradation of polyfluoroalkyl chemicals in the environment: A review
Liu, J., & Mejia Avendaño, S. (2013) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2013.08.022 · Cited by 525 · see citing works
Wang, N., Liu, J., Buck, R. C., Korzeniowski, S. H., Wolstenholme, B. W., Folsom, P. W., & Sulecki, L. M. (2011) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.11.003 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Methodology for studying biotransformation of polyfluoroalkyl precursors in the environment
Ruan, T., Lin, Y., Wang, T., Jiang, G., & Wang, N. (2015) · TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.trac.2014.11.017 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Lenka, S. P., Kah, M., & Padhye, L. P. (2021) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2021.117187 · Cited by 755 · see citing works
Brase, R. A., Mullin, E. J., & Spink, D. C. (2021) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms22030995 · Cited by 374 · see citing works
Coggan, T. L., Moodie, D., Kolobaric, A., Szabo, D., Shimeta, J., Crosbie, N. D., Lee, E., Fernandes, M., & Clarke, B. O. (2019) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02316 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
“4 Coggan, Anumol [46] on the same instrument and using the same instrument configuration.”
MethodInfluentialSelf-citationWhat are the effects of PFAS exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations?
Sinclair, G. M., Long, S. M., & Jones, O. A. H. (2020) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127340 · Cited by 285 · see citing works
Borthakur, A., Wang, M., He, M., Ascencio, K., Blotevogel, J., Adamson, D. T., Mahendra, S., & Mohanty, S. K. (2021) · Journal of Hazardous Materials · doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126159 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Alghamdi, W., Marchiandi, J., Szabo, D., Samandra, S., & Clarke, B. O. (2022) · Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances · doi:10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100167 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self-citationSingh, N., Paz-Ferreiro, J., Askeland, M. P. J., Coggan, T. L., & Jones, O. A. H. (2025) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179196 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Coggan, T. L., Anumol, T., Pyke, J., Shimeta, J., & Clarke, B. O.
- Affiliations
- RMIT University (AU)
- Agilent Technologies (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Coggan, Timothy L.
- Venue
- Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
- Published
- 2019-05-09
- Volume
- 411
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 3507-3520
- ISSN
- 1618-2642 (ISSN-L)
- 1618-2650
- OpenAlex
- W2944555279
- Cited by
- 124
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 5.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Fluorine in Organic Chemistry
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Chemical Analysis and Environmental Impact
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, legacy PFAS, emerging contaminants, wastewater, surface water, drinking water, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, fluorinated carboxylic acids, wastewater treatment plants
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
